Middle East

Netanyahu Says Israel 'Stands in Solidarity' with Iranians

This is Beirut 04/01 15:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel stood in solidarity with the people of Iran as protests rocked several cities in the Islamic republic this week. "We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty, and justice," Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting. "It ...

Syrian Kurdish Leader in Damascus for Talks on Military Integration

This is Beirut 04/01 14:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Syria Mazloum Abdi Kurds Ahmad al-Sharaa

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said. Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the government by the end of 2025, but ...

AnalysisSyria and Lebanon: Who Is Moving Forward in 2026?

Salam El Zaatari 04/01 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Nawaf Salam European Union Gulf Hezbollah Syria

Entering 2026, Syria and Lebanon stand at an inflection point along the region’s active fault line. While both nations shook off paralysis at roughly the same time a year ago, neither has become truly stable. What separates them is the nature of the risks they face in the near and medium-term as the Middle East undergoes uneasy post-war ...

$Khamenei Warns \$

Khamenei Warns "Rioters," Threatens Put Them "in Their Place"

This is Beirut 03/01 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Iran Ali Khamenei Protests

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday acknowledged the economic demands of protesters in Iran, where demonstrations have spread to more than two dozen cities, even as he warned there would be no quarter for "rioters." But Khamenei nonetheless warned that while "authorities must have dialogue with protesters, it is useless to have ...

Do Syria’s Former Regime Networks Really Command 168,000 Fighters?

This Is Beirut 03/01 00:05 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Syria Lebanon AssadRegime AhmadAl-Sharaa

As Syria tries to stabilize after years of devastating war, a new and unsettling narrative has emerged: claims that remnants of Bashar al-Assad’s former regime command an armed force of up to 168,000 fighters, allegedly preparing for renewed confrontation. The figure, revealed through leaked documents and intercepted communications obtained ...

AnalysisIran: The Regime Falters as Fear Shifts

Natasha Metni Torbey 02/01 17:35 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Iran economic crisis protests Mullahs Donald Trump Islamic Republic

In Iran, today’s protests are no longer a part of a long series of crises that the Islamic Republic has, over decades, contained through repression, intimidation, or external distraction. This is different: a deep, gradual, but now unmistakably visible erosion of the regime’s symbolic, ideological, and psychological foundations. This ...

Yemen's Separatists Say Fighting 'Existential' War Against Saudi-Backed Forces

This is Beirut 02/01 16:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Saudi Arabia Yemen Houthis United Arab Emirates

Yemen's UAE-backed separatists said they were fighting a critical war against Islamists and Al-Qaeda extremists supported by Saudi Arabia, their military spokesman said on Friday. "This war is decisive and existential," Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Al-Naqib said in a statement, after the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes and ...

Seven Dead as Saudi Coalition Strikes UAE-Backed Forces in Yemen

This is Beirut 02/01 15:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Saudi Aabia UAE Yemen

Seven separatist fighters died in air strikes Friday as the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen hit back against a sweeping advance by the UAE-backed Southern Transition Council that threatens to spiral into a major confrontation. The deaths are the first from coalition fire since the secessionist STC seized swathes of Hadramawt and Mahra provinces last ...

Trump Says US Will 'Come To Their Rescue' If Iran Kills Protesters

This is Beirut 02/01 11:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Trump Iran Protests IranProtests USPolitics

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, after cost-of-living demonstrations in the country turned deadly. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that "if Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come ...

Hezbollah Receives ‘Last-Chance Advice’ from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey to Disarm

This is Beirut 02/01 11:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Turkey Nawaf Salam Donald Trump Lebanese Army

Lebanese ministerial officials say Hezbollah on Wednesday received “last-chance advice” from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey to hand over its weapons to Lebanon’s government, according to the Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. According to the sources, the countries warned the militant group that failing to disarm would isolate ...

Iran Markets Advanced Weapons Systems for Crypto - FT

This is Beirut 02/01 09:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran Washington

Iran’s official defense export agency is offering to sell ballistic missiles, drones, and other advanced weapons systems to foreign governments in exchange for cryptocurrency and barter, Financial Times reported on Thursday. The Ministry of Defense Export Center (Mindex) is the export arm of Iran’s defense ministry. The site offers ...

Fresh Clashes Kill Six in Iran Cost-of-Living Protests

This is Beirut 02/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Europe Tehran United States USA

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six reported killed, the first deaths since the cost-of-living demonstrations broke out. The protests began on Sunday in Tehran, where shopkeepers went on strike over high prices and economic stagnation, and have since spread to other parts of the country. On ...